


Ghost in my Home

by RedWolfBlack



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Musical References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:49:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29403654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedWolfBlack/pseuds/RedWolfBlack
Summary: Re-imagining of Season 6 with Faith coming back to Sunnydale after Buffy dies."When Buffy died, it was like the world had a hole in it. Her friends and sister were torn apart by it, not sure how to go on. Although there was grieving, they had another problem that needed to be handled. There was no Slayer on the Hellmouth anymore, and their only option was in Los Angeles behind bars."
Relationships: Faith Lehane/Buffy Summers
Comments: 19
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to get posted sporadically as I am also working on the Kim Possible series. I've got the first 5 chapters of this written, so maybe a post once a month. 
> 
> Beta'd by a friend of mine.

When Buffy died, it was like the world had a hole in it. Her friends and sister were torn apart by it, not sure how to go on. Although there was grieving, they had another problem that needed to be handled. There was no Slayer on the Hellmouth anymore, and their only option was in Los Angeles behind bars.

When Buffy died, Faith felt it. It felt like a piece of her was ripped out. A sharp pain in the back of Faith’s neck woke her up that night. She wasn’t sure how she knew that Buffy was dead, she just knew. For the first time in a while, Faith cried. She curled in on herself that night, silently sobbing as she grieved. She wasn’t sure if anyone would call her about it, unsure if Angel thought she cared. She passed out when she had no more tears left to cry that night, wondering if she would wake up and it wouldn't be real when she woke up.

Sadly, when she woke up the next morning, the empty feeling she had once the connection was severed haunted Faith throughout the day. She remained in her cell until one of the guards told her there was a visitor. To say she was surprised that Angel was on the other side of glass would be an understatement. The man looked more broody than usual, dressed in all black as he sat in front of Faith. His hands remained crossed until Faith was seated and she had the phone against her ear. Faith watched as Angel, with a shaky hand, grabbed the phone on his end.

“Buffy...” Angel started, his jaw clenching as he struggled to find the words.

“I know,” Faith said, her voice coming out in a choked sob.

“Did they contact you?” Angel asked, his eyebrows raising in confusion.

“Slayer connection. I felt it,” Faith said as she stared blankly at Angel.

Angel nodded, no emotion showing on his face. He cleared his throat a bit, remembering that he had another message other than Buffy’s death. “You’re being released from prison in a few days.”

“What?” Faith asked, taken aback. “Aren’t I in here for life? Y’know the whole murder thing I’m supposed to be repenting for? Did I excel at being the model prisoner or something?”

“I was asked to pull a few strings. You’re needed back in Sunnydale. There’s no Slayer to guard the Hellmouth.”

“Ah, one life sentence to another,” Faith grumbled sarcastically, accepting her fate, even if she was a little surprised by the notion of going back to Sunnydale. “Got it...Whose idea was it to spring me?”

“Giles.”

“Not with open arms, I’m assuming.” Angel let out a sigh at the statement. “Right. When do I head back to good ol’ Sunny D?”

“Three days,” Angel said calmly. “Everything you need will be in Sunnydale, the mayor left you some money and the apartment you had in his -”

“I don’t want it,” Faith said stiffly. Her time spent in prison had her reflecting on her relationship with the former mayor of Sunnydale. If she was going to continue down the path of redemption, she was going to sever whatever connections she had with the man.

“I can make other arrangements,” Angel said, scratching the back of his head while he thought about what he could do. “I’ll have something figured out for you by the time you are out.”

“Thanks...” Faith said with a nod before going silent. Her thoughts were racing a little bit at the concept of being back in Sunnydale. It’s not like anyone in the Scooby Gang would care to have her around, but the fact that Giles had thought about her to take Buffy’s place made everything that had happened in the last few hours a little more bearable.

Faith felt a gentle tap on her shoulder, the guard behind letting her know that her time was up. “I’ll, uh, see you in a few days?” She asked, not sure if Angel was going to be the one transporting her to Sunnydale.

“If not me, then Cordelia,” Angel replies, giving a look of apology when mentioning Cordelia being the alternative.

Faith nodded as she hung up the phone, frowning slightly at the possibility of having to deal with Cordelia. She still remembered the girl when she was in high school, not having met the woman she had become. Yet, Cordelia was one of the people she had caused a minor amount of damage to when she was working for the mayor. All Faith had to do was survive her last few days in prison without any issue now.

* * *

The final days of Faith’s incarceration were, thankfully, boring. She spent most of the time to herself and avoided the other inmates the best she could. She wasn’t sure if getting into a fight would stop her from being released, but Faith sure wasn’t going to take that risk. When her release day came, Faith was handed the outfit that she had worn the day she was arrested. It felt good to have the jean jacket over her black shirt, the fabric of the jeans tight against her legs, and the weight of her boots. Faith felt herself smile at how close she was to freedom. Faith was escorted out of the prison to where prisoner pick up was, and she frowned at who was waiting for her.

Cordelia was standing next to a stylish convertible, sunglasses on in the bright sun. Faith could tell from where she was standing that Cordelia had a scowl on her face. Sighing, Faith approached her chariot to hell on earth. She watched as Cordelia’s demeanor tensed, and stopped a few feet away, throwing her hands up to show she was harmless.

“Hey Cordy,” Faith said with a nervous smile.

“Faith,” Cordelia said in a clipped tone. “ _ If _ you would hurry up, we can get this over and done with as quickly as possible.”

“Sure,” Faith shrugged as she started towards the car again, while Cordelia got into the driver’s side. There was a duffel bag on the passenger side, causing Faith to stop for a second. She heard Cordelia let out a sigh.

“Angel got you some things, and any important information you need is going to be in there as well.”

“Oh.”

Faith picked the bag up, placing it in her lap after she got situated in her seat. “Do you know what he got?”

“I don’t make it my business to look into other people’s valuables. Are you good to go?” Cordelia asked, glancing slightly to the side to see if Faith was buckled in.

“Five by five,” Faith confirmed.

The car started with a roar of the engine, Cordelia doing her best not to peel out of the parking lot. Faith was quiet beside her, staring at the bag in her lap. She was curious about what Angel had gotten her. Tentatively, she opened the bag to reveal its contents. The first thing Faith saw was an envelope addressed to her, her name written in Angel’s eloquent scrawl. Underneath that was a thick manila folder, which Faith assumed were her official documents. She also noticed that underneath that were some clothes that Faith had never seen before. To be honest, she was shocked that Angel had been able to shop for her in that way.

“If you’re wondering about the clothes, you can thank me for that,” Cordelia said as they pulled onto the highway towards Sunnydale. “He looked absolutely helpless when we went to the stores. I’m not sure if much of it will be your… style, but it should do until you are able to get clothing yourself.”

“Thanks,” Faith mumbled with a small smile at the thought of Angel being carted around clothing stores with Cordelia. She reached for the manila folder first, leaving the envelope for when she was alone.

Within the folder was a series of documents, ranging from her birth certificate to the deed of the mansion Angel had been staying in when he was still in Sunnydale. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the deed, not knowing what she would do with all that space. She wasn’t sure what Angel had really done with all of it to be fair. He stayed as minimalist as possible, not always being able to stay in the same place for too long. She flipped through the remaining information on the mansion, before getting to the finances pages. There was a debit card attached to the first page that had her account and pin information and what bank held her money. At the bottom of the page, it stated the amount that was currently in the account. Faith’s jaw dropped and she glanced over at Cordelia, not sure if she should break the silence they had fallen in to ask about the legitimacy of the number.

“Uhm… Cordelia?” Faith stammered. “How wealthy is Angel?”

“I’m not too sure,” Cordelia mused. “With how old he is, probably decently well off. Why do you ask?”

“Well… uhm… Angel said the mayor left me money and the apartment in his will, and I told him I didn’t want any of it. Y’know the redemption arc thing I’ve got goin’ on, don’t need that bastard’s scraps,” Faith explained. “Angel said he would work something out… and well, he gave me the mansion in Sunnydale… and, well...” Faith showed Cordelia the number at the bottom of the finances document the best she could while the woman drove.

“I guess I’m going to have to talk to him about my Christmas bonus this year then,” Cordelia said, a bit of humor and shock in her voice.

Faith put everything back into the bag, getting comfortable in her seat. The trip to Sunnydale was about two hours and Faith didn’t want to try and engage Cordelia in conversation. Faith decided to use the trip to get some sleep because she was sure she wouldn’t be getting much that night. Closing her eyes, Faith attempted to drift off to sleep.

_ Faith teetered on the edge of her balcony. She wiped blood from the side of her mouth, grinning slightly at the force of Buffy’s hit. She felt a dull pain though, in her abdomen. Buffy looked sad when she slid the knife into Faith’s stomach. The metal was cold, but it made Faith’s body feel like it was on fire. _

_ Faith grabbed onto the broken barrier of the balcony and Buffy’s wrist. Faith wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but the adrenaline kicked in and she could see a truck coming by in her peripheral vision. She pulled Buffy closer, whispering in her ear, “You did it, B… You killed me.” She shoved Buffy away, the blonde tumbled back and stared at Faith in shock. Faith let out a hiss of pain when she pushed Buffy away, the knife having slid out in the process.  _

_ Giving one last lopsided grin to Buffy, Faith fell backwards…  _ “Faith, wake up, we’re here.”

Before the memory could finish, Faith jolted awake at the sound of Cordelia’s voice. “What?”

“I said, we’re here,” Cordelia repeated, motioning towards the front of the mansion. They were in the driveway, and it looked like it had been recently used.

“Oh,” Faith mumbled, rubbing her eyes. The dream had her a bit shaken, but she tried to not let it show. “Should I be expecting anyone in there?”

“I think Angel said something about Giles coming around here a few hours after you had arrived.”

“Cool… Thanks, Cordelia,” Faith said, getting out of the car. She glanced over at the mansion, not sure what to expect in the daunting building.

“You’re welcome,” Faith heard Cordelia call from the car. “And for what it’s worth, I hope they can forgive you.” With that, Cordelia drove off, back towards Los Angeles.

Faith wasn’t sure how to take Cordelia’s last comment, but she knew it made her feel dread. She was back in Sunnydale and would be protecting its citizens in the dark of the night. It was more stressful than when Faith had first been called as the Slayer. Back then, she had Buffy. 

“Buffy…” The name fell from Faith’s lips slowly. Although it had been in the back of her mind, Faith was still mourning. “I wonder if Giles would tell me where they buried her.”

Shaking the thought away, Faith decided to see if the mansion was furnished and what she needed outside of the essentials. Walking to the door, Faith stopped, realizing she didn’t have keys to this place and she didn’t have a cellphone to call anyone to know where one might be. She decided to look through the duffel bag to see if they had sunk to the bottom; nothing. Next, she tried around the pottery and Welcome back mat. Again, nothing. 

Scowling, Faith made her way around the back of the mansion. If she remembered the layout correctly, there were twin balcony doors that she could break through. It just meant she was going to need to find a repair guy that would make the trek to the damn place. Once around back, Faith found the doors she was looking for. The entire thing looked like it had been freshly renovated.

“Well, now I feel bad,” Faith grumbled, approaching the door. Without thinking to check if the doors were unlocked, Faith kicked them where they met. The wood splintered in the middle, the force rocking them off their hinges, and panes of glass shattered, shards skittering into the main room. 

Making her way over the broken door, she looked around the main room, staring in shock. Someone had taken the time to furnish the place for her. There was an L-shaped couch and coffee table in front of the fireplace. There was a coat rack near the door with a place for shoes. She assumed that it had been Angel and Giles working together to get things set up. Curious, Faith made her way through the mansion, finding which rooms contained what.

The first change Faith noticed was the area that had been Angel’s room had been renovated into a small office, and a desk with computer and filing cabinet had been set up. Bookshelves lined the walls, Faith taking note that only one shelf seemed to be dedicated to fiction. The rest were filled with what she called ‘research’. It seemed that either Angel or Giles figured she would need to borrow some old tomes for her Slayer duties. 

“Did I age out of needing a Watcher?” Faith mumbled as she took a moment to put the manila folder from her bag into the filing cabinet. 

Next, Faith went to go hunt down her bedroom, which turned out to be difficult. She started upstairs, knowing that the kitchen and dining room were on the first floor behind the main hall’s fireplace. The first room she tried was a spare bathroom. The second was a large closet with all the cleaning supplies Faith could ever need. The third one turned out to be the training room. The wall across from the door was adorned with various weapons, along with some training dummies. Faith tried one more door at the end of the hall, finally finding the bedroom.

The room was huge compared to the cell. On the wall furthest from the door was a queen sized bed with a four poster frame; dressed in white sheets and a dark red comforter, with two pillows leaning against the headboard. Faith walked into the room, noticing a dresser and wardrobe off to the left. The door to the master bathroom was a few feet to the right of the bed. Along the right hand wall stood long windows on either end of twin balcony doors. Faith also noticed that the room wasn’t a dull grey like the majority of the first floor, but had a soft shade of red painted on the walls. 

“Home, sweet home, I guess,” Faith hummed, taking the duffel bag to the wardrobe. Thankfully, the wardrobe and dresser were empty. Faith was already starting to feel bad for the help Angel had already given her. She tossed the bag into the wardrobe, deciding to deal with the clothes after she went on patrol. 

Feeling a bit hungry, Faith headed to the kitchen. She hoped there was food, not thinking someone would have stocked the place for her, but she had been surprised a few times that day. It felt, in some twisted way, like she was being welcomed back. Once in the kitchen, Faith let out a sigh of relief. The kitchen hadn’t been as full as the rest of the house. It held a few dishes, utensils, with pots and dishes hanging over the stove. There was eggs, milk, cheese, and some soda in the fridge, while the pantry had a few bags of chips, canned soup, and ramen noodles.

While Faith was rummaging through the pantry, she didn’t hear Giles arrive. He had entered through the front door, unlocking it with the keys that were supposed to be left for Faith. He called for her, looking around the main room, noticing the broken doors to the back area. Sighing, he turned at the sound of movement in the kitchen.

“Faith?” Giles called out.

“Kitchen!” Faith called back.

When Giles entered the kitchen, Faith had started making an omelet, looking rather proud of herself. Giles smiled softly at the sight; it had been a long time since he had seen someone smile. He took a seat at the kitchen island, not sure how to start the conversation. Silence took hold of the room, the soft sizzle of Faith cooking keeping the two company. They remained silent as Faith finished cooking and plating her food. She turned to Giles, placing the plate on the table.

“How did it happen?” Faith asked casually, cutting into the omelet and taking a bite.

“Faith, I think…” Giles started, taking his glasses off and cleaning them.

“What happened to her, Giles?” Another bite.

“We were dealing with, a… um, Hell god,” Giles started. “Glory, her name was. She was trying to use a key to open a portal back to her domain. The key was Dawn…Glory succeeded in capturing Dawn from us. Buffy sacrificed herself for Dawn and the world…” Giles remained calm as he spoke. He was watching Faith carefully for any sign of emotion. “Faith…”

“How is this going to work?” Faith asked, tone steely. She took in Giles’ shocked face, frowning. “This is going to be easier if we get it over with quickly.”

“Right…” Giles cleared his throat, replacing his glasses. “I will be your Watcher and point of contact for anything going on in Sunnydale. You have my resources at your disposal if it isn’t already here in the mansion. Patrol as you used to.”

“No house arrest?” Faith asked with a raised brow.

“I trust you to not do anything that would be untoward of a Slayer to do,” Giles stated. “You’re a free woman in regards to the law as well.”

“Well if that’s everything,” Faith said, putting her plate in the sink. “I have to finish unpacking before patrol…”

“Of course, I won’t keep you from it,” Giles nodded, getting up from his seat. Faith walked with him to the front door. “Oh before I forget, here are your keys. I’ll also let Xander know that you need your doors fixed.” He handed her the keys before heading to his car.

“Wait!” Faith yelled, stopping Giles before he entered his vehicle. “Can… Can I know where she’s buried?”

“Of course, Faith.”

* * *

After Giles had left, Faith ventured to the garage, seeing if there was anything in there that she could drive. Before she had been incarcerated, Faith managed to get her driver’s license while working for the Mayor. It was one of the few things she was thankful for in regards to the man. 

Faith thumbed the keys in her pocket, entering the garage. It was rather small to be attached to such a huge house. The space was enough for two to three cars. There were no cars in it though, and Faith made a mental note to get something to move about Sunnydale with. As much as she was down for a walk after being cooped up for so long, the mansion was still an hour's walk to get into town.

Sighing, Faith headed towards the closest cemetery, not worrying too much about the broken back door. The mansion never saw any visitors outside of Buffy and the others when Angel had been there, and it wasn’t like those people would want to be around the current occupant. The first half of patrol was uneventful, no vampires or demons to be seen. It made Faith bored; she had hoped for some sort of action on her first night free. 

When she finished the other half of the cemeteries in Sunnydale, Faith took a detour on her way back home. Giles had told her where Buffy was buried; it was a bit out of the way, but Faith made her way through town to get to the spot. Giles told her that Willow had put a concealment spell over the grave so that no one would disturb the grave, save for family and friends. Faith was unsure if she would be able to see the grave. When she got to the place Giles mentioned, Faith’s breath caught in her throat when she saw the headstone.

Taking shaky steps, Faith approached the grave like it would vanish at any moment. She reached out when she got close enough and rested her hand against the headstone. Tears started flowing down her cheeks as Faith fell to her knees. Wiping her eyes, even though she hadn’t stopped crying, Faith looked at what was put on the stone.

_ Buffy Anne Summers _ _   
_ _ 1981-2001 _ _   
_ _ Beloved Sister _ _   
_ _ Devoted Friend _ _   
_ _ She saved the world _ _   
_ __ A lot

“I never got the chance to say sorry,” Faith whimpered. “I’ll never get that chance now…”

The tears flowed, Faith kneeling in front the grave, gripping her hands tightly. She sat there for a while, just letting the emotions out. Before Faith could cry herself into exhaustion, she made her way back to the mansion. When she got back to her new home, Faith curled up in the bed, letting the rest of the tears out until she passed out.

* * *

Faith woke up to the sound of construction coming from the living room. She groaned, rubbing her eyes at the sunlight filtering through the window. She looked towards her nightstand, noticing she didn’t have an alarm clock; just another thing to add to the list of shit she needed to buy. She made her way downstairs to see who was there. She remembered Giles mentioning something about her doors getting fixed. There were two people standing at the back door, the taller of the two showing the other how to measure the door frame.

Faith’s jaw clenched at the sight of Xander and Dawn. She hadn’t expected to interact with them for a while, if at all, figuring she could pull a crusader of the night schtick until she died. Xander looked older, still a bit goofy based on the smile he was giving Dawn. Dawn had finally reached her older teens, throwing Faith off guard at the maturity. Neither Dawn nor Xander had noticed Faith yet.

“Morning,” Faith said, smiling weakly at the frowns that were directed her way. “Or is it afternoon? I don’t have a clock.”

“It’s 1:36,” Xander said, taking a look at his watch. “You don’t look like you were being trashy last night.”

“What can I say? It was a quiet night,” Faith shot back. “I’d ask how you got in here, but I’m sure my work on the back doors is the answer. Sorry about that by the way. No one thought to give me keys.”

“It was unlocked,” Dawn frowned. “Didn’t you check that first?”

“Oh…” Faith mumbled, blushing a bit. “How much longer are you going to be? I’ve got shit to do.”

“Almost done,” Xander shrugged. “We can be out of here within the hour.”

“Cool… I’ll leave you to it. Thanks.”

Faith left Xander and Dawn to the doors, making her way back to the bedroom. She looked in the bathroom to see if there were towels and soap. She grabbed a plain black shirt from the bag, along with some jeans. Apparently, Cordelia had gone with the simple route over the matching Faith’s style route. It was good enough for now, Faith thought as she started her shower. By the time she was finished getting dressed, Dawn and Xander had left. The back doors looked as though they hadn’t been brought down by a superhuman kick.

The walk to Sunnydale Mall wasn’t terrible. It allowed Faith to take in her surroundings by sunlight, putting her in a less foul mood. Her first stop was the car dealership, although she wasn’t sure if they would have what she was looking for. The place she came across on the way into town was a used car lot, not that it bothered Faith much. All she knew was that it had to be American. There were a lot of decent cars that fit that description, but at the front of the lot was a cherry red 1970 Firebird. 

It took Faith about an hour to get the car title in her hand. When she wrote the check, the owner of the lot gave her a skeptical look. She pulled out of the lot with the Firebird, grinning as she drove the remaining distance to the mall. Faith was able to acquire a new wardrobe, doing her best to avoid clothing that she would have worn before. If Faith were to describe it, she was going for athletic/lumberjack/hermit. She also made sure to pick up an alarm clock. 

Once she was done with shopping, she made a stop at the grocery store for more food and toiletries. Afterwards, she went back to the mansion, using the remaining hours of daylight to get situated into her new home. Even though she had the Firebird, Faith decided to walk on patrol again. Her night was more eventful than the previous one, with Faith dusting two vampires before she made her way to Buffy’s grave. Faith sat at the grave, not sure what to do.

“I miss you, Buffy,” Faith said. “Even after all that shit… Ugh… What am I doing talking to a dead person? Not like there’s gonna be any closure.”

_ But it might help. _

Faith sat in silence again, pondering what she would even talk about. It was a little bit before she just started talking about her day. It felt good, just getting to vocalize what she was thinking, even if it was to a headstone. When she ran out of things to say, Faith got up and left. She felt slightly better, having talked about her incarceration and some of the things she wished she could say to Buffy. That night, Faith went to bed without the need to cry.

* * *

In the month following Faith’s arrival in Sunnydale, she fell into a routine. She would wake up around noon most days, allowing her to train, read, or go into town for necessities. Her patrols had a set route: go through all the cemeteries, then sit at Buffy’s grave for a few hours talking about what she had done that day. Being at the grave at the end of her day had become a ritual that Faith didn’t expect to develop. It helped her work through all the things she wished she could have told Buffy; the unrealistic wish of closure and beginning anew. 

About part way through July, Faith found herself walking through Sunnydale. The weather was gorgeous; sun shining, clouds rolling across the sky and giving bits of shade, and a gentle breeze combated the California heat. It was one of the few times Faith would venture into town without the Firebird. She had been reading one of the many works of fiction from the bookshelf in her office when she’d felt the sudden need to go for a walk. It wasn’t unwelcome, and Faith figured she would just wander through the town and enjoy the day. 

Faith eventually wound up at Buffy’s grave. She had pretty much walked the same route she did on patrol, but kept to the main streets compared to stalking through the cemeteries. She stopped at the edge of the concealment charm, seeing Willow and a woman with light brown hair tending to the grave site. Against her better judgement, Faith continued forward; fiddling with the keys in her pocket to ease her nerves and announce her arrival. The woman that was with Willow turned at the soft jangling, giving Faith a look of confusion.

“W-who are you?” the woman asked, nudging Willow to get her attention at the intruder. 

Willow turned around in confusion, features changing to neutral when she noticed Faith. “Oh… Hello, Faith.”

“Hey, Red,” Faith said with a smile. “Mind if I pay my respects?”

“Giles told us you asked where she was,” Willow said, glancing down at the headstone. “To be honest, we didn’t expect you to show up.”

“Gotta subvert expectations sometimes.” Faith turned to the other woman, sticking her hand out to shake. “Name’s Faith, we haven’t met, but I’m sure you’ve heard stories.”

“Tara,” the woman said, shaking Faith’s hand carefully. “I h-haven’t heard much a-about you. W-Willow and the others gave me a b-brief overview.”

“Nice to meet cha, Tara,” Faith said with a grin.

“We should get going,” Willow piped up. “We have… errands to run. Enjoy your visit.”

“Uh, sure. Enjoy your errands. See you around, maybe.”

Faith watched as Willow took Tara’s hand, not saying a word as they left the grave site. Sighing, Faith looked at the grave sadly. “You think I can ever get their forgiveness, B? Or is that also an unrealistic goal?”

* * * 

That evening Faith, as she usually did, sat down at Buffy’s grave. Patrol had been bland and Faith had been overthinking how to try and make things right with the Scoobies. That had put her in a depressed mood since she couldn’t think of any feasible way to apologize for going over to the dark side. 

“Y’know, it was you that kept me on the edge,” Faith was saying to the headstone. “I just wanted you to see me for who I was. I wasn’t your competition, just wanted to be your equal. Sometimes I’m jealous of Angel. He had your love… wish I had that. Funny, I’ve never really said that to anyone. Not that I’m doing that now, you being dead and all. But, Buffy, I love you, even if you’re gone.”

“Bollocks,” a voice said from behind Faith. “What do you know about the person buried here?”

Faith jumped to her feet, startled by the intruder. She turned around to see a blonde man, dressed in all black, aside from the red collared shirt he wore under it. Faith remembered him from her brief time in Buffy’s body. 

“Just good friends once upon a time,” Faith responded. “You’re Spike, right?”

“Aye,” Spike replied. “Who the hell are you? If you were friends with her, I would have seen you around.”

“I was out of town for a few years.” 

Spike walked closer to the grave, glaring at Faith as he did so. He was a few feet away from her, but Faith could smell the stench of liquor coming off the vampire. There was a moment of silence as they stood in front of Buffy’s grave. 

“You the other Slayer, then?” Spike asked, breaking the silence.

“I am,” Faith confirmed, watching Spike just stare at the headstone.

“She didn’t care much for you, did she?” He asked.

“You take to listening in on people’s therapy sessions, Spike?” Faith countered.

“Only when their whispered desires are loud enough for me to hear. Not as if it’s any of my business. She’s not here to console our worries.”

Faith remained quiet, watching Spike lay his hand against the headstone before he turned to leave. She watched until she could no longer see Spike in the distance. Faith crossed her arms, not sure what to think about Spike and his vague comments. She said goodbye to the grave, looking back at it before it was out of view; wondering when she would next encounter Giles and the others.

* * *

Faith was in the kitchen when she heard a knock at the front door. As she walked to the door, Faith looked at the clock to see that it was 3pm; she was also confused by having a guest. No one had come over since Giles had come to speak with her. She answered the door, raising a brow at who her guest was.

“What can I do yah for, D?” Faith asked a very upset looking Dawn.

“Can I hang out here for a bit?” Dawn asked, shuffling her feet and looking at the ground.

“Sure,” Faith said, leaning against the side of the door as she motioned for Dawn to come in.

“T-thanks,” Dawn stuttered, looking around the mansion with wide eyes.

“You want something to eat?” Faith asked, closing the door once Dawn was inside. “I was making grilled cheese.”

“Uhm… No, I’m good,” Dawn mumbled.

“Well, make yourself comfortable,” Faith said with a shrug and headed into the kitchen. Whatever the kid was going through, Faith wasn’t sure how to approach it; she decided to give Dawn space. It didn’t take very long though, as Dawn walked into the dining room just as Faith was taking the first bite of her meal. She sat down across from Faith, and looked at the other half of grilled cheese on Faith’s plate. Rolling her eyes, Faith slid the plate over to Dawn. 

“You wanna talk about it?” Faith asked, continuing to munch on her portion of grilled cheese.

“I miss Buffy,” Dawn mumbled, making Faith frown. “And I can’t do that around Tara, Willow, and Xander.”

“But you can do it around someone you hate?” Faith questioned.

“You never treated me like I didn’t know or understand what was going on… And with everything that happened last year, they treat me like this breakable thing. Buffy did that too, but she’s my sister. I think they are overcompensating for her being gone… It just makes me miss her more,” Dawn answered, looking glumly at her grilled cheese.

The two fell into an awkward silence, Faith wasn’t sure how to respond to Dawn’s mood. She had seen the girl be overjoyed, throw a tantrum, and be mad; but she had never seen Dawn look sad. When she was still on good terms with Buffy and the others, Faith normally went out of her way to make sure Dawn was in on what was going on; making sure the girl didn’t get into danger by trying to figure it out herself. Normally, that got Faith and Dawn in trouble with Buffy, but Dawn was always happy in the long run. 

“I miss her, too,” Faith finally said, giving Dawn a weak smile.

“Why?” Dawn asked. “I thought you and Buffy weren’t the biggest fans of each other.”

“Understatement of the century,” Faith laughed, clearing her throat to stop from crying. “B and I… that’s just complicated history. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss how insufferable she could be or how caring she was, even if it was hidden behind lengthy lectures.”

“She’d probably be giving me one right now about being here.”

“Speaking of that, do the others know you’re here?”

“... I kinda ditched last period and walked here...” Dawn mumbled, shoving the rest of her food in her mouth.

A loud  _ brrring  _ sounded from Faith’s office. She sighed and gave Dawn a stern look, assuming that the call was coming from one of the Scoobies. Faith went into her office, answering the phone with a “What’s up?”

The voice on the end of the phone was one that she didn’t recognize, “is this Faith?”

“Depends on who’s asking,” Faith replied.

“Anya,” the voice said. 

“Who is it?” Dawn asked from behind Faith.

“Some chick named Anya.”

“I know her,” Dawn said with a sigh.

“Is that Dawn?” Anya said over the phone. “Good, I’ll let the others know she’s with you.”

_ CLICK _ .

Faith looked at the receiver, immediately confused by how abruptly the phone call was ended. Dawn giggled a bit at Faith’s confusion. 

“Anya is always like that,” Dawn said when Faith put the phone back. “You’ll get used to it.”

“She said she would let the others know that you’re with me. You got an ETA on when they might come get you?”

“Willow is at class, Xander is working, Anya probably won’t make the trip, so that would leave Tara, but I’m not sure how long that would be…”

“Well, call around. I don’t care how long you want to stay or if I have to bring you home by a certain time. Just do, like, homework or something so they don’t think I’m a bad influence or whatever.”

Dawn nodded enthusiastically, immediately calling Tara. Faith sighed and went back to the dining room and kitchen to clean up. When she was done with that, Faith headed to her office. She passed Dawn in the main room, perched on the edge of the couch and studying. Dawn informed Faith that Tara was going to be by in a few hours to come get her. Faith nodded, entering her office to read. 

The sun was starting to go down by the time Tara arrived at the mansion. Faith was just getting up to stretch when she heard the car pull into the driveway. She reached the door just as the soft knock came. Opening the door, Faith gave Tara a smile and invited her into the mansion. Tara returned the smile, stepping in timidly. 

“T-thank you for looking after D-Dawn,” Tara said. “S-sorry it took me so long to get here. I n-needed to m-make a quick stop.”

“No biggie,” Faith said, closing the door and putting her hands in her back pockets. “D was on her best behaviour. Plus, it was nice to hear someone else in here besides my thoughts.”

“Thanks, Faith,” Dawn said, having gotten her stuff together while Faith was answering the door. She looked down in embarrassment though when she caught the somewhat stern look Tara was giving her. “Hey…”

“We should get going. I’m sure Faith has other things she needs to get to,” Tara said, making her way to the door with Dawn.

As they walked out, Dawn turned around and gave Faith a hug; mumbling a thanks. Faith wasn’t sure how to act, body tensing at the sudden affection. She placed one of her arms around Dawn, giving an awkward hug back. As quickly as the hug happened, it was over; Dawn ran out of the door to catch up with Tara. Faith waited for the car to leave the driveway before she closed the door, sighing as she did so. 

“Maybe things aren’t so bad after all,” Faith pondered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this seems popular, have a 2nd chapter early

There was something Faith always forgot about wishful thinking: be careful what you wish for. It was the beginning of October when the unexpected happened. While she was getting ready for patrol, the sharp sensation Faith had felt when Buffy died came back two fold. She grabbed her head, falling to her knees in agony. Unlike before, the pain wasn’t quick. It kept pulsing through her whole body, lasting minutes. When it finally stopped, Faith went on auto pilot and ran out of the mansion.

It was like something had possessed Faith as she ran as fast as she could to Buffy’s grave. It still took her ten minutes to get to the grave, even at a full sprint. Faith skidded to a halt in front of the grave, panting as she took in the scene. There were burnt candles close to the headstone, and a terracotta pot was crushed into the grass. Faith could see blood speckled across the grass, but she was unfazed by that.

Faith’s jaw clenched when she noticed the most bothersome thing about the scene in front of her. The grass that grew over the grave was disturbed, like someone had to dig their way out of it. She looked around trying to find any sign of where the people that had been there had gone. Coming from the direction of downtown, Faith heard the revving of engines and people screaming. 

“Fuck!” Faith yelled as she tore off towards town. 

As she got closer, Faith started to smell the smoke coming from the buildings and vehicles that were burning. She slowed to a jog as she passed through Main Street, taking in the destruction that had taken place there. Faith frowned at the scene before her, knowing that Giles would have warned her if he’d known something before he left for England. 

Faith made her way to Revello Drive, hoping that someone was there. As she made her way there, Faith saw a group of demons on motorcycles driving throughout the city. As dire as the situation was, Faith’s mind was on a single track: find out what the hell happened. When she got to the Summers residence, the house was dark and untouched by the demons that were roaming the city. 

“Fuck... Shit… God damnit,” Faith snapped. “Where the fuck would they go?”

Faith heard more engines heading to the industrial area of Sunnydale, deciding to head towards where all the action was taking place. She took the time to slow her pace down just enough that she wouldn’t be exhausted if she got into any fights. Faith’s mind was racing as fast as her heart, trying to figure out what she had seen at the grave and why she could feel the Slayer connection again. Faith didn’t want to believe in the possibility of Buffy being alive. As she got closer to the industrial area, Faith saw a motorcycle turn a corner. There was a familiar looking vampire and teenager riding it; Faith decided to follow them. 

Faith followed Spike and Dawn into a large fenced area that had various piles of burning rubble. She slowed to a walk, watching Dawn walk up to what looked like the remains of a robot. Spike was walking around the area, grumbling to himself as he picked up a mechanical leg. Faith walked over to Dawn first, wanting to make sure the girl was okay. She stopped dead in her tracks at the appearance of the robot. It looked identical to Buffy.

“Dawn… What is that?” Faith asked, voice shaking as she held back anger. 

“Faith? What are you doing here?” Dawn questioned, looking up from the robot.

“Well I saw that the fucking city was being burned and looted, and thought hey let’s go for a stroll,” Faith snapped. “Now what the fuck is that thing?”

“It’s the BuffyBot,” Spike said, coming up to them. “Reprogrammed to be everything you need to keep the Slayer’s death hidden.”

“Reprogram…” Faith said, turning her back towards Dawn. “Y’know, not the point. Do you know where the others are? I stopped by Buffy’s grave and… It looks like something happened there.”

“They asked me to watch the Little Bit here tonight,” Spike recounted. “Then all hell broke loose ‘cause of those sodding hellions. Got Dawn out of there before anything could happen.”

“Spike...” Faith looked back to check on Dawn, but the girl was gone. “Great, now Dawn’s gone.”

“Dawn’s gon-” Spike asked, looking to where the BuffyBot was. “Bollocks!”

“I’d help you find her, but I  _ need  _ to find the others. I… I think Buffy’s been brought back, and that they have something to do with it.”

Faith ran off back towards downtown, hoping that maybe she would be able to find some clue at the Magic Box. The hellions, as Spike had called them, were driving off in what Faith assumed was fear. She headed in the direction they had fled from, nearly running into Xander as he, Tara, Willow, and who Faith could only assume was Anya, came out of an alleyway.

“Whoa!” Xander yelled, flailing as he backed away from Faith. “F-Faith, hey!”

“What did you do?” Faith snapped, directing her ire towards Willow. She gave the witch a once over, taking note of the wounds inflicted on her arms.

“If you’re talking about the biker demons...” Willow said.

“Y’see, I stopped by Buffy’s grave and there was something about it that didn’t seem right. There were ritual supplies there, and from the way Red’s looking right now that points the finger to you.”

“Buffy… She’s back,” Willow said. “We brought her back.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?! And not tell me about it?” Faith yelled, putting the others on edge.

“We didn’t think you would… Well, care,” Xander stated, with Faith glaring daggers at him. 

“Where is she?” 

“Uhm… we d-don’t know,” Tara mumbled. “W-we were heading back to the house…”

“Great, I’ll come with you,” Faith said sternly, motioning for the group to lead the way.

“I don’t think it would be wise for you to-” Willow started.

“She’s going to find out I’m here one way or another, Willow,” Faith snapped. “No more secrets. While we walk, you’re going to tell me everything.”

The walk back to Revello Drive had Faith’s skin crawling. Willow was explaining the evening’s events from their perspective. Faith had to resist the urge to lash out at the group, swallowing her anger. The closer they got to the Summers residence though, Faith felt dread and anxiety. She was going to see Buffy for the first time in almost two years, and Faith wasn’t ready for it. She fiddled with the stake she had brought, doing her best to calm her nerves as they got closer to the house.

The group noticed that the lights were on in the living room and there were people moving inside. When the others rushed to the house, Faith stayed behind. She thought it best to remain at a distance while the others did the worrying. When Faith made it to the front yard, she froze when looking into the window to the living room. She saw Willow and the others surrounding someone on the couch, Dawn standing to the left of said person as Faith’s eyes locked onto blonde hair…

“Buffy…” Faith whispered, not believing what she was seeing. 

There was the soft click of a door closing as Spike stormed out of the house. He wiped his eyes before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Looking up, Spike noticed Faith standing in the front yard. He walked over to her and nudged Faith in the arm. Faith snapped out of the trance she had fallen into, looking over to Spike as he offered a smoke to her.

Faith took the cigarette with shaky fingers, pressing the filter to her lips. Spike offered the lighter to her, holding the flame to the tip of the stick. Faith took a long drag from the cigarette, gritting her teeth as the smoke burned her lungs. She exhaled, body trembling as she did so.

“T-Thanks,” Faith mumbled. “Is tha-”

“It’s bloody her alright,” Spike growled out.

“You not in on the plan to resurrect the dead?” Faith asked, confused by the sudden growl.

Just as Spike was about to respond, Xander and Anya came out of the house. They were quietly talking as they walked down the porch. Xander scowled when he saw Faith and Spike standing in the yard. 

“Now that she’s back,” Xander said, making his way over to the pair of smokers. “Are you going to return to your Buffy obsession?” 

Faith glanced over at Spike as the man’s body tensed. He dropped the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. Spike lashed out at Xander, grabbing him by his jacket. Anya jumped back from Xander, while Faith put out her smoke and stepped between the men.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Spike snapped, pushing against Faith’s arm.

“You wouldn’t have agreed to it,” Xander replied, backing away from Faith and Spike. 

“You’re bloody right I wouldn’t have. Do you know the magicks that you all messed with?” Spike moved away from Faith, marching over to the motorcycle. He got on it, and as he pulled away he shouted, “magic always has consequences!”

Faith rubbed the bridge of her nose before turning her attention to Xander and Anya. “Is Buffy alright?” she asked.

“She’s a little shaken, but alright,” Xander confirmed. “Her hands are injured from-”

“Crawling out of her grave,“ Faith finished for him. “Does she know I’m back?”

“No, not yet.”

“You gonna tell her?” 

Silence followed after Faith’s question, Xander and Anya not looking her in the eye. She scoffed, taking one last glance into the house. She didn’t see Buffy anymore, making Faith feel like she had hallucinated the blonde. Shaking her head, Faith made her way back to the mansion. The walk back had Faith on edge as she gripped the stake tight enough to make her knuckles white.

Once she was back at the mansion, Faith went straight to the liquor cabinet, grabbing a bottle of scotch. She made her way to her room, making sure to grab the pack of cigarettes from the office. She leaned against the railing of the balcony, taking a gulp of scotch. Her hand shook as she grabbed one of the smokes, inhaling deeply once it was lit. 

The night Buffy was brought back, Faith drank until she blacked out.

* * *

The month following Buffy’s resurrection, Faith remained holed up in the mansion. She would go into town to get groceries, going at times she figured would allow her to avoid running into Buffy. Faith had stopped patrolling, just assuming that Buffy and the others would pick up the slack. When she did leave the mansion at night, Faith would sit at the site that had once been Buffy’s grave. The headstone and remnants of the spell to resurrect Buffy had been removed. Faith felt comfort and familiarity sitting in the grass and looking up at the stars, even without the headstone to talk at.

Although she tried to remain alone, Faith had two visitors throughout the month. The first being Giles, who had come by when he arrived back from England upon learning that Buffy was back. Unlike Faith’s return to Sunnydale, the conversation was less tense. Giles informed Faith that Buffy had yet to know she was back in Sunnydale. Faith could tell by the tone of his voice that he was furious with the others, but he wouldn’t express it other than with a brisk, harsh tone. 

The second visitor was Dawn, showing up at Faith’s door in the last week of October. The teenager’s eyes widened when the door was opened to see Faith holding a half empty bottle of Jack, in pajamas, and leaning lazily against the frame. In her drunk state, Faith didn’t think about the complications of Dawn being at the mansion, simply inviting the girl into the place without a second thought. 

“Faith, are you okay?” Dawn asked after the door was slammed shut. She watched as Faith walked over to the couch and flopped onto it, somehow not spilling a drop of alcohol.

“Just peachy,” Faith said, taking a drink.

“I can leave if you want…” Dawn said, looking back to the door tentatively.

“S’whatever you ‘anna do, Dawnie. So long as you didn’t ditch school again.”

Dawn blushed, looking at the time, “I didn’t, but I should be home by now…”

“Do the others know that you are here?” Faith asked, looking over at Dawn. Through the drunken fog, Faith was slowly realizing what that would mean if Willow didn’t know where Dawn was. 

“No…” Dawn squeaked, taking a seat next to Faith. She watched as the gears in Faith’s head turned, putting the bottle on the coffee table. 

“Does Buffy know that I’m here?” Faith asked, suddenly very sober and staring at Dawn with sad eyes. Dawn shook her head, glancing at the clock on the fireplace mantle again. “Then why are you here?”

“I… Well… Giles was saying that you weren’t okay, and I thought you could use some company… And I… I think Buffy should know you’re here,” Dawn said firmly, although the scared look in her eyes betrayed her confidence. 

“Dawn, what did you do?” From Faith’s office, the phone rang. It sent shivers down Faith’s spine as she got up to answer it. “Hello?”

“Uhm, Faith,” Giles said on the other end. “We’ve got a small problem. Buffy is on her way to the mansion. Dawn didn’t return home after school, and Tara informed us that she was with you last time this happened.”

“Buffy’s coming here…”

“I’m on my way there as well, but she will arrive before I can interfere. Just prepare for the worst.”

“Thanks, Giles.”

Faith hung up the phone with shaking hands, returning to the main room. Dawn looked at her with an apologetic look as Faith ran up the stairs to change. Just as the first loud bang against the front door sounded, Faith was jumping the last steps of the stairs in a pair of jeans, tank top, and flannel shirt. Another loud bang against the door followed by some angry yelling commenced as Faith’s hand grabbed the doorknob. 

Faith opened the door and was immediately greeted by an out of breath and furious looking Buffy. Faith froze, not sure how to address Buffy when she shoved her way past Faith and into the mansion. Faith remained staring at the empty entrance, processing that Buffy was there. She snapped out of it when she heard Buffy bark at Dawn.

“How long has  _ she  _ been here?” Buffy asked, motioning towards Faith.

“A… A month after you died,” Dawn stammered, looking over to Faith for help. “I wasn’t allowed to tell you! Willow and Xander made me promise.”

“So everyone’s been keeping it a secret that a murderer is hanging out in Angel’s mansion?” Buffy asked, her anger rising.

“It’s actually my mansion now,” Faith said calmly, not really sure how to avoid a fight at this point.

“Oh really?” Buffy scowled as she turned her attention away from her sister and onto the other Slayer. “What did you do? Break out of jail and decide to squat here?”

“Buffy…” Dawn started to say, but stopped when Faith shook her head. 

“Angel and Giles got me out,” Faith corrected, taking a step closer to Buffy; her own anger building up. “Angel set me up with the mansion because your friends didn’t want me near them. If you wanna be pissed, B, take it out on them or me. Not Dawn.”

Faith saw Buffy’s jaw and fists clench as the blonde contemplated what to do. The tension in the mansion rose as Faith prepared herself for a possible fight. Yet, Buffy walked away from Faith, motioning for Dawn to follow. Faith watched the sisters leave the mansion without another word, door slamming behind them. Faith collapsed to her knees, shaking and trying to not sob as her emotions raged.

After that incident, Faith started patrolling again. Now that the cat was out of the bag, there was no point in being holed up in the mansion anymore. When it came to patrols, Faith felt like she was stalking Buffy. There was always at least one cemetery where Faith would catch a glimpse of the blonde and just follow her until the sweep of the area was finished. Afterwards she would leave in the opposite direction of Buffy, making sure that they wouldn’t cross paths again. 

Everything was uneventful for the few days after Buffy and Dawn had been at the mansion. Faith was still drinking away her feelings after patrols and wallowing in self-hate. It was late evening on Halloween when the unexpected happened. Faith was laying on the couch, nursing a small glass of scotch when there was a knock on the door. It was a soft knock, almost timid, making Faith unsure whether the sound should have happened at all. Faith slowly got up from the couch, placing her glass on the table as she made her way around the couch to the door. Faith opened the door to see a very worried looking Tara. The woman was tugging at the ends of her sweater, looking past Faith and into the mansion. 

“I-is Dawn here?” Tara asked, looking towards Faith with worry

“Nah, should she be?” Faith asked, head tilting in confusion.

“She was supposed to be at her friend Janice’s, but Janice’s mom called and they aren’t there,” Tara informed Faith. “We are looking around for her and she has a habit of being here when she goes AWOL.”

“I was kinda hoping for a boring evening,” Faith grumbled as she turned away from Tara to head to her office. She grabbed the stake and hoodie she kept in there, returning to the door and closing it. “Where do you think two teenage girls would go on Halloween?”

“W-what?” Tara stammered, startled by Faith’s reaction to the situation. When Buffy found out about Faith being in Sunnydale, the blonde had gone on a tirade. There were things that Buffy had said about Faith that Tara didn’t know. Buffy painted Faith as some soulless monster, yet she was willing to go out and search for Dawn without being asked.

“Sunnydale still has a make out point spot, right? We can start there,” Faith said to herself, not registering that Tara had asked her something. “You fine with walking through the forest? Your car isn’t gonna be very useful.”

“Y-yeah,” Tara said, following as Faith started towards the forest line close to the mansion. 

The trek through the forest was quiet, with Faith making sure to move at a slower pace so Tara could keep up. Faith was lost in her thoughts as she walked. Two questions stuck out though; why was Dawn acting like this and why did Tara come to the mansion by herself?

“Can I ask you a question?” Faith asked.

“I think you just did,” Tara responded.

“Where’s Red? Aren’t you two like a buddy system when it comes to searches?”

“W-we figured we could c-cover more ground separately…” Tara stammered out. From the corner of her eye, Faith could see Tara fiddling with her sweater sleeves again.

“Mhm… Y’know when you’re nervous, you tug at your sweater,” Faith said, taking a turn in their path in the general direction of the make out point. “Fine by me if you don’t wanna tell me about your relationship issues, but if you need an ear… I can be good at that.”

“Can I ask you a question in return?” Tara asked after a few moments of silence.

“Sure.”

“Buffy’s said some terrible things about you. If she hates you so much, why are you going out of your way to help find Dawn?” 

Faith hugged herself as she contemplated how to phrase why she was helping. “It’s hard to explain.”

“Does it have something to do with why you were in prison? They said you turned yourself in.”

“I…” Faith started but was interrupted by a scream in the distance. 

Faith tore off towards the source of the scream, leaving Tara to keep up. Faith broke through the treeline to see Giles getting tossed around by a vampire and a girl slumped against the trunk of the tree. She heard Tara come up behind her, pointing at the girl before going to help Giles. Faith ran to where she saw Giles and the vampire go. She slid down the side of the road, catching a glimpse of Giles fighting back. 

The vampire was distracted with Giles, giving Faith the opportunity to tackle it from the side. She rushed the vampire, catching it in the ribs and forcing it back into a tree close by. Faith felt the soft crunch of cartilage and bone as a branch sunk through the vampire’s back and into its heart. It burst into a cloud of dust, covering Faith with the remnants. She grumbled to herself as she brushed off the offending substance.

“Was that Janice?” Faith asked, turning to Giles.

“It was,” Giles confirmed grimly. “She was bit, passed out from the shock and blood loss.”

“C’mon, we’ll see if Tara was able to get something out of her.”

They headed back towards Tara, who was tending to Janice’s bite mark. The girl was conscious and confused by what had happened. Faith squatted in front of Janice, smiling softly at the girl. She asked where Dawn was, and Janice pointed in the direction she remembered leaving from. Faith nodded, standing and telling Giles and Tara to take care of Janice. Before Giles could argue, Faith was already running off to find Dawn. 

As Faith made her way to the make out point, she heard another scream, this one much more familiar. She rushed towards the sound, arriving at the far end of a clearing that had several cars along the edges. In the center of the clearing, Dawn was standing in front of a vamped out teenager; her head tilted to offer up her neck. 

“It will only hurt for a second,” Faith heard the vampire say.

“I bet you say that to all the girls,” Faith said with a frown.

“Faith?!” Dawn gasped. She turned around, only to be grabbed by the throat and pulled back against the vampire.

“You’ve got two choices,” Faith said, taking confident steps forward. “We can do this the easy way, or I can ki--”

Faith stopped dead in her tracks as the lights to the various cars lit up, blinding her slightly. She clenched her jaw as multiple vampires exited and approached the clearing. The vampire holding Dawn grinned. “What were my choices again?”

Faith tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder and a gentle pull as Spike stepped up beside her. 

“So, is this a private game,” he said. “Or can anyone join in?” Spike gave Faith a brief look of apology before she heard another voice approach.

“Dawn, are you-” Buffy was asking as she rounded a corner and onto the scene. She took in the scene, registering where they were and who Dawn was with. “Were you parking with a vamp?”

Everyone in the surrounding area stopped what they were doing. Faith looked away, biting her tongue as to not bring up the Angel topic, while Spike’s brow furrowed at Buffy. The vampires that had been enclosing them stopped, and looked at each other in confusion.

“I-- I didn’t know he was dead,” Dawn pleaded.

“Living dead,” the aforementioned vampire corrected.

“Shut up.”

“How could you not know?” Buffy snapped.

“I just met him,” Dawn said with a shrug.

“Oh. Oh, so you were parking in the woods with a boy you just met.”

“We’ve seen each other at parties,” the vampire piped up.

“Shut up,” Buffy said, facial expression turning to disappointment. “I don’t believe you.”

Faith and Spike looked at each other with perplexed looks, as though to say,  _ “Does she even hear what she is saying?”  _

“Oh , like you’ve never fallen for a vampire?” Dawn said with a hurt look. 

“That was different.” The statement earned eye rolls from both Faith and Spike respectively.

“It always is when it’s you.”

“Uh, excuse me,” one of the vampires cleared their throat. “Can we fight now?”

“Didn’t anyone come here to just make out?” Faith asked. There was a couple watching the scene play out that raised their hands. “Aw, that’s sweet. You run.”

“You scream,” Buffy said as she, Spike, and Faith split up to take on the vampires.

Faith felt the adrenaline rush through her as she cornered two vampires near one of the cars in the area. She struggled with the pair, the vampires getting some cheap shots on her. Ramming her shoulder into one vampire, Faith kicked against the other to gain momentum on the first. With some finesse, Faith pulled out her stake and rammed it into the vampire’s chest before they hit the ground. 

Faith scrambled to her feet, forgetting to grab the stake as she rolled away from a kick aimed at her face. The vampire attacking her was quicker than the other, keeping pace with Faith’s blocks and punches. Faith grunted in anger, catching the vampire’s fist and twisting its arm. She let out a huff as she tossed the vampire into the car. Faith patted herself down for the stake, realizing that she hadn’t grabbed it. She looked around for anything that would help, locking eyes with Buffy; who had just finished dusting her set of vampires.

“Stake!” Faith called, holding her hand out for the one Buffy had. There was a fleeting moment of doubt when Buffy stared blankly at Faith before throwing the stake over. Faith caught it, staking the vampire before it could counter.

“Thanks…” Faith mumbled, offering the stake back to Buffy.

“I need to find Dawn,” Buffy said numbly, taking the stake from Faith. She brushed past the younger Slayer, heading in the direction she saw Dawn go. 

“She really isn’t fond of you, is she?” Spike asked, approaching a very melancholy Faith.

“No one to blame but myself, I guess,” Faith mumbled. “Can you, uh, make sure someone updates me on the situation? I think D is going to take this pretty hard. Especially if she had to kill the guy.”

With a curt nod, Spike gave Faith a sympathetic smile. She simply shrugged it off, making her way back to the mansion. 

* * *

It was the following evening and Faith was lounging on the couch. She was part way through a cyberpunk novel and a glass of scotch, when there was a knock on the door. Faith let out a huff of annoyance at the intrusion. Snapping the book closed, Faith placed it on the table next to her drink as she made her way to the door. When Faith opened the door, her jaw dropped. Standing in front of her was Buffy, looking like she had just been deep in thought. 

“Buffy?” Faith asked, disbelief laced in her tone. 

“I wish people would stop saying my name like I’m not real,” Buffy grumbled, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.

“Did I fall asleep?” Faith questioned, which had Buffy tilt her head in confusion. “Slayer dream. Are we in one?”

“Why would we be in a Slayer dream?” Buffy’s brows furrowed at the notion.

“You wouldn’t be here willingly if it wasn’t.”

It was quick, but not painless when Buffy punched Faith in the shoulder. “Real enough for you?”

“Ow… Point taken,” Faith grumbled, rubbing her arm. “You want to come inside and have a drink?”

“... Please,” Buffy said, smiling weakly.

Faith stepped aside, allowing Buffy to enter the mansion. Buffy scanned the main room, noting the differences in the mansion from when Angel had owned it. “It’s warmer.”

“What?” Faith asked as she made her way to the liquor cabinet.

“The mansion,” Buffy said, gesturing towards the room. “When Angel was here, it was always so cold and empty. Now, it’s… warmer.”

“Oh… uh, thanks?” Faith mumbled, absently grabbing the scotch and another glass. 

The two sat on opposing sides on the couch; Faith was looking towards the door, while Buffy faced the fireplace. Faith silently filled the empty glass and topped off hers. She watched as Buffy took the drink and just held it while staring into the fire. Faith wasn’t sure if she should speak, so she took a sip to focus on something other than Buffy. She wasn’t sure how long they had been sitting there when Buffy finally spoke.

“Dawn and Tara insisted that I come here to thank you for last night,” Buffy said. “Tara told me that you dropped whatever you were doing to help us find Dawn. So, thank you… for that.”

“You’re welcome,” Faith replied softly. The quiet returned; the soft crackle of the fire and ticking of the clock were the only sounds filling the room. Faith worried her lip as she took a glance at Buffy. The blonde was staring blankly into the fire, glass in her hands trembling slightly. “B… Are you okay?”

“I’m here. I’m good.” There was a slight tremble of emotion in the words as Buffy spoke.

“Buffy, if you’re in --” Faith paused, not sure if what she was about to say would matter much. “If you need anything, I --”

“You can’t.”

“Well, I haven’t been to hell, but I could guess prison is a close second to it,” Faith tried to joke.

“I was happy,” Buffy said softly. “Wherever I was, I was happy. At peace. I knew that everyone I cared about was all right. I knew it.” She looked up towards the clock on the mantle. “Time didn’t mean anything.” She looked down at her glass, swirling its contents. “Nothing had form. But I was still me, you know? And I was warm. And I was loved. And I was finished. Complete. I-I don’t understand theology or dimensions -- any of it, really. But, I think I was in heaven.”

Faith was staring at Buffy as she spoke, the realization of what Willow and the others had done pulling at her heartstrings. She remained quiet, taking another sip to calm her now shaking hands. 

“And now I’m not. I was torn out of there. Pulled out… by my friends. Everything here is hard… and bright… and violent. Everything I feel, everything I touch -- this is hell. Just getting through the next moment… and the one after that, knowing what I’ve lost --”

Buffy stopped talking like she had just registered where she was and who she was talking to. She looked up from her glass towards Faith, face contorted in confusion and pain at what she had revealed to someone she was supposed to hate. Buffy placed the glass on the coffee table and stood from the couch. Faith watched her make her way to the door, too shocked by what Buffy had said. 

“They can never know,” Buffy said, stopping just before the door. “Never.”

Faith sat in silence as Buffy left the mansion, not paying attention to the grip she had on her glass. The soft crack of glass and a sharp pain in her palm snapped Faith out of her shock. Faith cursed under her breath as she set the broken glass down, heading towards the bathroom. There were a few small shards of glass sticking into her palm. She struggled to grab the medkit under the sink, hovering her bleeding hand over the sink. With as much care as she could, Faith removed the glass and bandaged her hand. 

Faith slid down onto the floor, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. What she couldn’t figure out is why Buffy would just tell her something like that. They never did the secret sharing, and Faith was pretty sure Buffy didn’t mean to even tell her any of that. Faith looked at her bandaged hand, sighing in frustration at the curve ball life had just thrown at her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter instead of the month thing. Just know chapter 5 is the musical

Faith was standing awkwardly in front of the Magic Box. She was sure she was getting weird looks from passers by. Her shoulders were hunched, hands shoved into the pouch of her hoodie with the hood up. She looked back at the Firebird, debating whether or not she wanted to go into the store. 

When Giles had called her that morning, Faith hadn’t expected to be invited to a training session. It had been a week since Buffy had shown up at the mansion and opened up to Faith. She figured Buffy would keep her distance again; something she was already used to. Yet, she was being invited to the Magic Box to spar with Buffy. So, there she was, just standing anxiously at the door.

“Faith?” A voice called from behind her. Faith turned around, seeing that Dawn was walking towards her. “What are you doing here?”

“Giles invited me to come here to train,” Faith said, pulling her hood down. “I just wasn’t sure if I should go in…”

“Are you nervous?” Dawn asked.

“Somethin’ like that.”

“If it helps, you’ve got Tara and I in your corner.”

“Thanks, D,” Faith said with a soft smile. Turning back to the door, Faith entered the Magic Box.

“Damn it,” Faith heard Xander say from across the store. He was sitting at a circular table that was covered in open texts; Willow and Tara were sitting with him. Xander was glumly handing Willow a ten dollar bill. “Remind me to never bet against a witch again.”

“What were you betting on?” Dawn asked, taking a seat at the front counter. Willow and Xander looked away sheepishly at the question.

“Oh, they were betting on whether or not Faith was actually going to come in. Instead of standing out there... and scaring away paying customers,” Anya said from behind the counter. “Xander said you would leave, while Willow said you would come in.”

“She’s blunt,” Faith said, still not entirely sure how to interpret Anya. “Can someone point me to the punching bags?”

“The back room,” Tara said, pointing towards a steel door at the back of the store.

Faith nodded her head in thanks, heading into the back room. Giles and Buffy were in the middle of training, Buffy punching Giles’ padded hands. Faith cleared her throat to announce her arrival. Buffy looked over at Faith, face betraying no emotions as she pulled her hands away from Giles.

“Faith,” Giles said with a smile. “So glad you could make it.”

“Sorry, I was late,” Faith mumbled. “Got stuck in traffic.”

“If you’d like to warm up, we can go over today’s lessons.”

Giles motioned towards the padded portion of the room. Faith took off her sweater, shivering slightly in her tank top. She tossed the sweater to the side, looking over at Buffy. The blonde was staring blankly at Faith’s midsection causing Faith to look down and see her top had ridden up a bit. Faith quickly pulled her top down, looking towards Buffy. 

Buffy continued to stare at Faith’s covered stomach. A wave of guilt washed over her at the large scar that marred the younger Slayer’s skin. “Giles, I’m not feeling too great,” Buffy said while heading to the back exit. “I’m gonna sit out for the rest of this one.”

“Buffy…” Giles reached out but refrained from stopping her. He turned to Faith with a soft smile. “Maybe it was a bit too much for her just yet?”

“Probably…” Faith said with a shrug, placing a hand against her abdomen.   
  
* * *

It had been a long time since Faith had gone through one of Giles’ training regiments. She was dripping in sweat and panting by the end of it. Faith was standing in the back alley, trying to let the evening air cool her down. She leaned against the brick wall next to the door, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Faith was about to light it when Giles poked his head out of the door.

“Faith, when you have a moment, we could use your help with something.”

“What’s up?” Faith asked, putting the cigarettes back into her pocket.

Giles held the door open for Faith as she walked back into the training room. She followed Giles back into the main store where everyone was gathered around the table. Buffy was standing with her arms crossed and looking anywhere Faith wasn’t. Faith did her best to not take notice of it, and looked to Giles.

“We have a minor issue that we felt you might like to be informed of,” Giles said. “It seems that the Slayer is being targeted.”

“Which one?” Faith asked. “‘Cause I don’t think I’ve been in Sunnydale long enough to piss anyone off.”

“That’s actually a good point,” Willow said, catching both Buffy and Faith’s attention. “Well, you see, Faith… we still had to make sure no one knew Buffy had… uhm…”

“Died?” Buffy supplied sarcastically.

“Yeah… So, we ended up using the Buffybot to cover for that fact. In all honesty, I don’t think any big players would even know that Faith is here,” Willow continued.

“Whoever they might be,” Buffy interrupted. “They’ve been an annoying inconvenience and I need less of those right now.”

“What do you need my help with then?” Faith asked, not sure if she would be useful in this situation. She looked over to Buffy, the woman staring hard at the floor and face betraying no emotions. Faith looked to Giles, who was giving her an apologetic look. 

“If you were agreeable to it,” Giles said, rubbing the back of his head. “I wanted to offer you a job here at the Magic Shop so that you can help us with tracking whoever is targeting Buffy down before something bad happens.”

Faith stared blankly at Giles and the others. No one in the room seemed opposed to the idea. Faith turned her focus back to Buffy to gauge her reaction. She wasn’t surprised by the lack of emotion in Buffy’s face at the question. 

“I’ll have to think about it,” Faith said with a shrug, watching Buffy’s eyes flicker slightly to disappointment.

“Of course. In the meantime, continue patrolling as you have and let us know if you come across anything about our newest threat.” 

“Will do,” Faith said, glancing towards the clock and making her way to the door. “I’ve gotta get back and get ready for patrol. Thanks for, uhm, inviting me to train.” 

Closing the distance to the door as fast as she could, Faith left the Magic Box. She got into the Firebird, heading back home to get ready for patrol. She was trying her best to ignore the look from Buffy. Disappointment; that scared Faith more than she wanted to admit.   
  
***

The following day, Faith was making her way out of the dining room after finishing a late breakfast. She stopped on her way to the stairs, a nagging in the back of her mind telling her something wasn’t right. Faith looked towards the back doors, noticing that one of them was slightly open, letting in a gentle breeze. Frowning, Faith walked over and closed the door. She tried to remember if she had gone out back at all, trying to shake off the weird feeling. 

Returning to her original destination, Faith made her way upstairs to her room. She was still in pajamas, needing to shower and change before she went about her day. About forty-five minutes later, Faith was making her way down the steps in jeans, a black long sleeve, and boots. She was in a relatively demure mood, having decided that she was going to take Giles up on his offer.

Sure Faith had a solid amount of money in her account, but her days consisted of the same routine. There was also the pesky task of continuing her path down the road of redemption. She couldn’t really do that by being a hermit; away from everyone she was trying to do right by. In the long run, working at the Magic Box or being directly in town would be more beneficial. Yet, there was the problem of Buffy. 

Faith sighed as she walked into her office. Everything came back to Buffy. Faith had been worried about Buffy after being told about where she had been after she died. From what Faith could tell, Buffy was shutting everyone out. There was no bite to her words when talking to Faith, even if Buffy never looked at her when they talked. It was unnerving to say the least.

If the phone didn’t start ringing, Faith was bound to spiral into her thoughts and drink her day away. Picking it up, Faith wasn’t really surprised by the voice on the other end. 

“Faith,” Giles said. “Sorry to bother you, but we have a slight problem.”

“Don’t we always?” Faith grumbled. “What happened this time?”

“It’s Buffy.” Giles informed her. “There’s been an incident and she’s turned invisible.”

Now that caught Faith’s attention. “So, she could literally be anywhere?” 

“Essentially.”

“I may be superpowered, but I doubt I can find an invisible person.”

“If you could try, that would be helpful. We’re on a time limit. Whatever they did to cause this will eventually cause Buffy to disappear completely,” Giles stressed.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Faith said, clenching her jaw. “How much time do we have?” 

“By the end of the day.”

“I’ll check some spots then head to the Magic Box,” Faith said.

“Thank you, Faith.”

Faith set the receiver down before rubbing her temples. That nagging feeling was back full force and Faith felt like she was being watched. Clenching her jaw, Faith left the mansion. She wasn’t entirely sure on where Buffy would be, letting herself go on auto-pilot. Faith wasn’t surprised that she found herself at Buffy’s old grave site. It was her comfort when things got intense lately. 

“Where are ya, B?” Faith wondered, sitting down in the grass and plucking a few strands up to fiddle with. There was a tingle in the back of her neck that Faith tried to ignore. “Telling me you were in heaven and then you just shut down. I should be used to it by now, huh? Sometimes I wonder if you’ll ever forgive me for what I did.” Faith stood up, brushing off her pants. “Whatever Gods are out there sure as fuck know I don’t forgive myself.”

Faith sighed and headed towards the Magic Box. If she had been paying attention to the tingling in her neck, Faith would have noticed the other set of footsteps following her; the depression in the grass where someone was standing and watching her, but unseen.

Upon entering the Magic Box as dusk was falling, Faith went to sit at the round table with the others. She noticed that Tara was missing and Dawn’s left arm was in a sling. There were a number of books sprawled out on its surface. Most of the books were turned to demons and magics that could cause invisibility. She frowned as she took in the worried faces of the Scoobies.

“No luck?” Faith prompted.

“No,” Willow said from across Faith. “But, we did talk to Buffy before she went AWOL.”

“How did this even happen?”

“Someone hit her with some sort of invisibility ray. Xander said that she went for a walk and we haven’t heard from her for a few hours.”

“We checked out the spot where she got hit with the ray,” Xander said. “I brought a traffic cone that got hit with the ray here, and well, it turned to muck.”

“So if we don’t find Buffy…” Faith said.

“Let’s not think about that,” Giles said, clearing his throat. “How did you fair?”

“Fuck all,” Faith said, frowning. “Did anything else happen today that might cause Buffy to not stick around?” She was trying to figure out why Buffy wouldn’t want to be around her friends in this situation.

“A social worker came by today,” Dawn said softly. “Maybe Buffy’s at home?”

“I’ll go check,” Faith said, getting up. “I’ll call if there’s any sign of her.”

“I’ll come with,” Willow said. “I was able to find some clues at the scene as to who did this.”

“Buffy’s mystery van?” Xander asked. Willow nodded, following Faith out of the store. 

It was dark now, the street lamps flickering on to illuminate the roads. There was a slight chill in the air as Faith and Willow walked toward Revello Drive. Along the way, Willow filled Faith in on what had been happening lately. Turns out, Faith was missing out on a lot while keeping to the mansion since Buffy had been resurrected. There was a black van that had been tailing Buffy recently and wherever that van was, strange things happened. Buffy had run into a large red demon one night, the beast running away from her as fast as possible after the van made a getaway. There had even been an attack at Xander’s construction site involving a group of demons. Then there was the problem of money in regards to the house and bills that piled up while Buffy was dead. 

_ Probably why the social worker was there _ , Faith thought with distaste.

They were a few more minutes from making it to Revello Drive when Willow parted ways with Faith. She informed Faith that she was going to go check on her lead about the mysterious van. They agreed to meet back up at the Magic Box if they found anything. Faith watched as Willow disappeared into the darkness before finishing the walk to Buffy’s house. 

Faith knocked on the door, shuffling her feet as she waited for an answer. Faith tried the doorknob, turning it with ease and entering the Summers’ residence for the first time in two years. She clenched her jaw, not sure if she should call out to see if anyone was home. The nagging feeling in her neck kicked up a notch as she heard the back door open.

“Buffy?” Faith called out, shutting the front door and heading towards the kitchen. She frowned, seeing that the fridge was open. “B, I know you’re here.”

“Coulda fooled me,” Buffy’s voice said from near the fridge. A pizza box floated out of it, the door shutting by itself before the box landed softly on the kitchen island.

“Where have you been?” Faith asked with a frown, watching a slice of pizza float into the air. 

“Around.” A portion of the slice vanished into thin air as Buffy took a bite out of it. 

“Willow went to see if she could find out who did this to you.”

“I know.”

“You know?” Faith frowned, crossing her arms at the implications of Buffy knowing something that she hadn’t been around for.

“Do you visit my grave often?” Buffy asked as the slice slapped unceremoniously into the box.

Faith’s jaw went slack before she clenched it closed. She stared at the empty space where Buffy was supposed to be. “How long have you been following me around?”

“Most of the day,” Buffy said, her voice closer to Faith than before. “Were you there often?”

“Every night,” Faith said softly, her demeanor getting more tense.

“Why?” The word was spoken softly, curious and scared of the answer.

Faith was about to speak, but the ringing of the phone interrupted her. She scowled in the direction of the ringing. “Is there something about people in Sunnydale calling at the most inconvenient times?”

The phone floated off of its receiver, Buffy having picked it up. “Hello?”

Faith stood there silently, listening as the conversation played out.

“Who is this?” Buffy asked. “You sound familiar… Where?”

The phone hung itself up and Faith heard the thumping of feet heading towards the front door. She followed after the sound, reaching out to try and get a grasp on Buffy’s arm - wherever it was. Her fingers wrapped around something solid, and Faith felt Buffy jerk to a halt just before the door.

“Whoa, where are you going?” Faith asked, not letting go of Buffy.

“Whoever did this to me has Willow,” Buffy snapped. “I have to go alone.”

“Better idea to avoid this obvious trap: I come with you. No one knows I’m associated with Red or you.” It was quiet for a moment. “I’ll take that as a yes. Where are we going?”   
  
***

Fifteen minutes later, Faith was walking into a crowded arcade. She scanned the area, spotting Willow near the pinball machines. Doing her best not to get noticed, Faith paid the employee for entrance and filtered through the crowd. Assuming Buffy went straight for Willow, Faith positioned herself against the back wall of the building. She watched as Willow spoke to Buffy and whoever else was with them. Her body tensed when a clunky looking gun with a diamond on top of it floated into view. Willow and the floating gun made their way towards a secluded section of the arcade. 

Faith continued to watch, not sure when to interfere. An air hockey mallet floated into the air, followed by the gun being pointed towards it.  _ Must be Buffy _ , Faith thought. She became more alert when Willow’s voice could be heard over the crowd and arcade machines. The witch’s face contorted into anger as she spoke. Then the floating gun flew back, the butt of it hitting Willow and knocking her down.

That was Faith’s cue to intervene. She walked quickly over to Willow, trying not to draw attention to the situation. Faith saw the hockey mallet soar through the air and bounce off of nothing. Whoever got hit dropped the gun, causing it to clatter a few feet away. As she walked by the gun, Faith grabbed it before helping Willow. Behind her, an invisible fight was happening and drawing the attention of the arcade’s patrons. 

“You okay there, Red?” Faith asked, helping Willow to her feet. 

“Peachy,” Willow huffed. 

There was a loud bang and crackle of electricity as someone was thrown into the nearest pinball machine. Everyone scattered from the building, confused and scared by what was happening. There was a grunt as someone got thrown into the ball pit. Faith handed Willow the gun, trying to listen for Buffy.

“Keep talking boys,” Faith heard to her left. It was followed by a “Ow! Ow! Ow! Watch the chest hair.”

“I know that voice. You-You’re--”

Willow fired the gun towards the voices. A floppy looking pink ray spouted from the gun and hit the air where Buffy had been heard. In almost an instant, Buffy phased into view. She was wearing a long brown jacket with a dark brown shirt, jeans, and heeled boots. Faith tilted her head at the short bob Buffy was now sporting, not hating the look. The person she was holding was a short looking man with short black hair and a geeky appearance.

“Jonathan?” Buffy gawked, tossing the man to the ground. “You have chest hair?”

Willow aimed the ray towards the ball pit, revealing another nerdy looking man. He had short black hair, a furrowed brow as though he was constantly thinking, and he looked pissed at the situation that was unfolding. “Warren?”

The final reveal was a scrawny man with blonde spiked hair. He was laying on top of the broken pinball machine, whimpering in pain. Buffy frowned, not recognizing the third man. He seemed familiar to someone else she had come across. “Who are you?”

“Andrew,” the blonde said meekly. Buffy shook her head, still not registering him. “I summoned the flying monkeys that attacked the high school. During the school play, y’know?” Buffy and Willow stared blankly at Andrew. Faith was trying to stifle laughter at the trio as Warren and Jonathan got up to help Andrew down.

“He’s Tucker’s brother,” Warren supplied. 

“Oh,” Buffy mumbled. Willow and Faith moved to either side of Buffy as she questioned the trio. “So you three have, what, banded together to be pains in my ass?”

“We’re your arch ‘nemesises-ses’,” Warren declared, causing Faith to snort her amusement. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“I’m really just a good friend of theirs,” Faith said with a shrug, earning a once-over from Warren.

“Well, you may have stopped us this time, Slayer, but next time--” Warren stared hard at Buffy and Willow, almost as if he was waiting for something. “Um, uh, next time…” He nudged Jonathan.

“Maybe not!” Jonathan shouted, throwing down a smoke bomb. 

Buffy, Faith, and Willow coughed slightly, waving the smoke out of their faces. They stood there in bewilderment as the trio of nerds struggled with the back door of the arcade. Faith was continuing to stifle laughter at the whole situation, only stopping when an officer came into the building.

“What’s going on here?” He asked. “I got a bunch of scared kids saying this place is haunted.”

There was a slam of the door as Warren and his merry band of nerds finally made their getaway. Faith decided to curb the police presence, leading the cop out of the building. She wasn’t the best with authorities, but it looked like Willow had things under control with Buffy. If Faith was honest, she was attempting to avoid Buffy. Faith leaned into the story that the kids had told the officer, embellishing it a bit more. She was pretty sure the man walked away from her more confused than before and thinking she was crazy. 

Proud of herself for handling the cop, Faith started her walk towards the cemeteries. Now that Buffy’s problem was handled, Faith could continue with her regular schedule. That was something Faith picked up while in prison; the habit of sticking to a routine. It made Faith feel in control of her life, even with keeping the world from falling into chaos. 

Faith spent the rest of the night patrolling the town. It was lackluster, Faith only getting the chance to dust a handful of vampires. The nagging feeling she had felt throughout the day finally stopped after Faith was no longer around an invisible Buffy. The connection between herself and Buffy was something that kept Faith occupied as she walked to the grave site.

It wasn’t a subject that Faith had put much thought into researching. She really wasn’t sure if there would be any information on the topic. From what her Watcher had told her, there was no record of there ever being an anomaly in the Slayer line before Buffy. Letting out a huff of annoyance, Faith figured she should keep a journal of her experience. She pulled out her smoke pack, retrieving one and putting it to her lips as she arrived at the grave site. Once she was settled in the grass, Faith lit the smoke and inhaled deeply. 

The early morning sky was dark with bands of red, orange, and yellow peeking up over the horizon. A gentle breeze shook the leaves of the trees surrounding the little area. Whenever Faith exhaled, a cloud of smoke drifted lazily up into the air. It was peaceful, Faith thought, taking in the moment. Part way through her cigarette though, Faith felt the tingle in the back of her neck. 

“You know those are bad for you, right?” Buffy asked, walking up to Faith and taking a seat next to her.

“I’ll take my chances,” Faith replied, casually puffing on the smoke.

“I can see why you came here… It's peaceful. Definitely a place I would have wanted to be buried.” There was a hint of nervousness in Buffy’s voice as she spoke. She looked towards Faith, making a face as the woman lit another cigarette. “Faith, I…”

“I felt it,” Faith whispered, sucking in the pungent smoke. 

“What?”

“You dying... It felt like a hole was punched through my soul. When Angel and Giles got me out of prison, I came here every night because it made me feel close to you. Kinda like before… Before I chose the wrong side to tango with.” There was a tremble in Faith’s voice that Buffy hadn’t heard since Alan Finch. “I spent hours here, just talking to your grave about the things I did on patrol and during my day. To be honest, saying it out loud makes me sound pathetic. Talking to a dead person that hates me.”

“I don’t hate you,” Buffy said.

“You also aren’t dead anymore,” Faith countered, not caring to question what Buffy had said.

“Touche.” 

Silence fell between the two of them as the sun rose in the distance. Faith was brooding to the point of rivalling Angel, while Buffy remained deep in thought. Buffy let out a deep breath, shifting herself so she was sitting directly in front of Faith. Faith raised a brow at the soft look Buffy was giving her, blowing smoke in the opposite direction. 

“I don’t hate you,” Buffy reiterated. “It was jarring seeing you here after all this time. There was still bad blood and I… I feel guilty. Guilty for how things went down. And seeing how quick you were to help Dawn on Halloween, it shows that you’ve changed.”

“Work in progress is what I am,” Faith said sourly. “Makes sense why you wouldn’t want me around you.”

Buffy let out a sigh of frustration before she leaned forwards, wrapping her arms tightly around Faith. She felt Faith’s body tense at the contact, but there was no reaction to pull away. They sat like that for a few moments, Buffy’s face nestled between Faith’s shoulder and neck. Faith eventually wrapped her arms around Buffy, returning the hug.

“I want you around,” Buffy mumbled against Faith’s shoulder. She pulled away to look at Faith when she heard a chuckle of disbelief. “What?”

“You sure haven’t been showing it.”

“I… well, yeah… But, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t trying.”

“I don’t think stalking me all day while you were with the not-being-seen counts as showing me you want me around,” Faith countered, prepared to question Buffy more on the matter later.

“I was the one that told Giles to invite you to train,” Buffy blurted out. 

“But you left the moment I got there.”

Faith tensed up again as Buffy’s hand pressed gently against her stomach. Phantom pain blossomed across Faith’s stomach from the gentle pressure. She did her best not to make a sound or move too suddenly. Biting her cheek, Faith looked at Buffy. She was looking back at Faith, eyes watering.

“When I saw…” Buffy mumbled, pulling her hand away. “I just couldn’t be around you. It brought everything crashing back down. Especially after what I told you. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t want you around.”

“Was the job offer your idea too?” Faith asked, sliding away from Buffy a bit and ignoring the hurt look she got in return.

“No, that was Giles being Giles.”

“How long were you stalking me for?” Faith pressed, not wanting to just drop that particular subject.

“I wasn’t stalking you,” Buffy said, her frustration starting to turn to anger. “God, you are still so stubborn.”

“I didn’t ask you to come have the gal pal heart to heart,” Faith snapped, getting to her feet and walking away from Buffy. “You’re the one that came to me, remember? I was happy to just stay out of sight, out of mind.”

“So, you’re just going to walk away?” Buffy shouted.

Faith stopped walking, grinding her teeth as she thought about what to do. Buffy was right: she was walking away from the situation. Yet, staying was going to be a pointless back and forth until one of them threw the first punch. Faith closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before turning around. 

“You don’t want me to walk away, B?” Faith asked as calmly as possible. “Then answer the fucking question. Why were you following me around today?”

Buffy stood there, doing everything she could to not look at Faith as she thought about the answer. Chewing her lip and swallowing her pride, Buffy looked to Faith. 

“I feel safe around you…”

“I don’t think you retained your memories of me very well, B,” Faith said, not wanting to trust Buffy’s words. “Like you said, we’ve got history.”

“If I didn’t feel safe around you… I wouldn’t have confided in you.”

“That doesn’t mean shit. You could have easily told Spike this information.” That got Faith a confused look.

“Why would I tell Spike?” Buffy asked, sounding offended by the idea. 

“You two seem to be down with the closeness. He follows you around like a puppy dog. Plus, you’ve got a thing for vamps,” Faith pointed out.

“Spike is the furthest thing from being close with me,” Buffy replied with disgust. “He’s a friend. Even if he wants it to be more than that. Ugh, that’s not the point, though. Look, as hard as it might be to accept, I want you around and feel safe with you. And I’ll keep trying to show you.”

“Even if it kills you?” Faith joked.

“Little on the extreme side, but sure.”

“Fine,” Faith said, yawning in the process. “Just remember if we end up killing each other, this was your idea.”

“Deal,” Buffy said with a smile, throwing Faith off guard more. It had been a long time since Buffy had smiled around her.

“B...Buffy, I-” Faith said softly. “I’m sorry… For everything that happened. I know that isn’t gonna make shit better, but figured it needed saying.”

“It's a start,” Buffy said with a yawn. “I’ll let you get back home… See you at the Magic Box later?”

“Sure,” Faith said, turning to make her way back to the mansion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Change up about chapters being posted. They will get posted once my friend gets the chance to help me edit.

Faith was dying of boredom. When she accepted the job offer from Giles, Faith didn’t realize how much her routine wouldn’t change. She was sitting behind the counter and reading a book Giles had handed her upon walking in that afternoon. Apparently, Buffy had experienced a time anomaly while attending classes with Willow earlier that day. Speaking of, Faith was glancing over the top of her book to look at Buffy. She was walking with Anya, getting the tour of where things were at the Magic Box. She was going to be working there for the rest of the day since the college thing hadn’t worked out. 

“Uh, is this all the research?” Buffy asked as Giles came from the back room, a stack of books in his arms. “Or just some kind of stress test for the table?”

“I just want to be thorough,” Giles said. “This time anomaly, and the demon attacks could be completely unrelated events. But if they’re not, you might be in some danger.”

“So, situation normal then?” Faith asked, speaking for the first time since she had arrived. She caught a look from Buffy, giving the blonde a dimpled smile before returning to her reading.

It was a few hours later when Faith felt a tingling sensation run down her spine. She stood up abruptly from the stool, causing it to clatter to the ground. Anya and a few customers looked in Faith’s direction due to the sudden noise. Faith cleared her throat and picked the stool up, rubbing her neck at the weird feeling. 

Coming around the counter, Faith headed for the back entrance. As she made her way through the back room, hearing the bell at the front of the store ring as a customer entered through the front. She caught the first few words Buffy said to the customer before getting out of range. Letting out a sigh and rolling her neck, Faith pulled out a smoke. She had been sitting for hours, not entirely sure if she should have moved for fear of startling anyone. 

Another habit she had picked up while in prison was not being seen or heard. It was easier to stay on the guards’ good side if she wasn’t the one instigating the fight. Then there was the faint hope of parole if she was on her best behaviour. Faith hadn’t really thought about the possibility of Buffy dying and what that would mean for her sentence. Little did she know back then that it would be as simple as a vampire snapping his fingers. 

Finishing her smoke, Faith entered the back room. As she did, a tingle ran up her spine again. Stopping, Faith listened carefully to what was going on in the store. There was the ring of the bell again, followed by Buffy greeting a customer. It played out like a normal sales interaction, and it went quiet for a moment as Buffy went into the basement to retrieve something. There was no sound indicating that the transaction was completed. Then another ring sounded with, what Faith assumed was, another customer entering the store. Faith raised her brow at the frustrated grunt that Buffy made before stomping through the store. Faith heard a man grunt in pain and another interaction between Buffy and a female customer. Frowning as the bell rang for a third time, Faith entered the main part of the store.

“Hey, B, you need some help?” Faith asked. 

Buffy whipped around, looking frantic and confused. She marched over to Faith, flinging her arms around the taller woman. Faith looked around, Giles and Anya looking just as confused as she was. Buffy pulled away, looking relieved and embarrassed. 

“I thought I was going crazy,” Buffy said. “Where have you been?”

“Out back,” Faith said, frowning as she looked around the store. She counted two customers in the building. Yet, based on the amount of bell rings she heard it should have been more. “What’s going on?”

“You’re just going to forget if I tell you,” Buffy sighed. “But, I do need your help with something. There’s this hand thing downstairs that I can’t package without killing it. Could you handle that while I go talk to the customer that needs it?”

The frown Faith was sporting deepened as she tried to remember something Anya had said. “Can’t you, like, ship it to the customer or something?”

“I… really hope this works,” Buffy mumbled, making her way to a nervous looking woman with red hair. 

Faith sat down at the table, keeping her eye on Buffy and the customer. Buffy looked really frazzled and it hadn’t been that long since she had gone outside. From what Faith could tell, the customer was satisfied with the overall results. Buffy looked overjoyed when the woman finally left the store. She flopped down into the chair across from Faith.

“Was it really that hard to deal with one customer?” Faith questioned. She wasn’t one for the customer service life, but Buffy made it look like an extreme sport.

“I think my time anomaly turned into groundhog day,” Buffy grumbled. “I went through that exchange so many times and it’s like no time passed.”

“It’s been about twenty-ish minutes since I went out for a smoke break,” Faith offered. 

“Wait… you weren’t affected by it? Everyone else was.”

“Maybe I wasn’t in the time bubble?” Buffy stared blankly at Faith. “Uhm… god this is gonna sound nerdy… Think of your time loop as, like, a bubble. And everyone in that bubble is affected by it. So, if I wasn’t in it when it started, or like, activated… Then, in theory, I would be able to avoid the side effects.”

“That explains why you just appeared in the middle of that,” Buffy mumbled. “Thank you, for saving me from that nightmare. I thought I was going to keep reliving that forever.”

“Anytime, B,” Faith shrugged. 

The rest of the day was spent in comfortable silence as the group continued researching and tending to customers. Faith was hunched over a large textbook, eyes straining to keep the words from blurring together. Cursing under her breath, Faith leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. 

“Faith,” Anya called, approaching the Slayer with unnerving confidence. “I’m not sure if you were informed or not, but Xander and I are getting married.”

“Congratulations,” Faith said, albeit confused by why Anya was bringing it up.

“Well, it was heavily suggested to me that I should offer you an invitation to the wedding. I’m not sure if it is out of pity, since you seem to be very alone, but you are welcome to the event all the same.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

Anya walked away returning to the counter to finish closing out the till. Faith sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face at the interaction. She had a few brief interactions with the ex-demon, but today was the first time Faith had long exposure to her. It was rather jarring to say the least.

“You’ll get used to that,” Buffy said from across the table.

“So I’ve been told,” Faith said with a frown. She stood up and stretched. “My eyes can’t focus on this research shit. I’m gonna patrol to see if I can find anything” 

“Patrol?” Buffy asked, perking up at the idea.

“Wanna come with?” Faith offered, not sure if it was needed.

“Please and thank you.”

***

Faith was walking beside Buffy as they made their way through one of Sunnydale’s many cemeteries. They had fallen into a comfortable silence, which Faith was thankful for. She knew they had things to talk about, but as far as she knew, the topics were on the depressing side. So, Faith kept quiet, unless it was to point out any vamps in the area. Unfortunately, they hadn’t run into anything worth slaying just yet.

“So, you were with the research today… How’d it feel to be back?” Buffy asked as they made their way through Restfield cemetery.

“Weird,” Faith replied. “Not that I really missed the research part. I didn’t find anything of use.” 

“You too, huh?” Buffy sighed. “If this wasn’t the normal around here, I’d actually be worried.”

“We got any other leads? I’ve got energy to burn, just point me in the direction of something to hit,” Faith said, bouncing a bit on the balls of her feet. Off in the distance there was a scream. 

“Talk about divine intervention.”

They ran off towards the sound, breaking through the treeline and into the woods. For Faith, it was exciting; running alongside Buffy again. Subconsciously, she was trying to beat Buffy to the source of the scream. In the distance, Faith saw a cloaked figure chasing after a woman. She watched Buffy dive for the figure; the blonde falling flat on her face. The demon and woman vanished from sight. There was buzzing noise, then sobbing as the woman appeared again; curled up on the ground. 

Faith watched as Buffy approached the woman, telling her that everything was going to be okay. She felt a twist in her stomach as Buffy appeared beside her, cloaked demons surrounding them. Her fist met the face of one of the demons, dodging out of the way as another took a shot at her. Faith’s punch made contact with the air. Another second and she hit the ground as she was punched in the face. Faith blinked and she was standing next to Buffy. The woman from before stumbled past them, holding her stomach in pain.

Faith felt woozy when she started fighting the demons again. She was getting disorientated from the constant shifting. She let out a growl of frustration and grabbed the closest demon, snapping its neck. Turning to handle another demon, Faith was knocked to the ground again; Buffy’s fist making contact with her nose. 

“B, what the fuck?” Faith asked, looking up at Buffy. She took in the confused look Buffy had; it was the same look from when they were at the Magic Box. 

“Faith, what’s happening?” Buffy asked. 

_ She sounds scared _ , Faith thought just before she was shot upright and hitting another demon. 

If Faith had been paying attention behind her; she would have seen the woman from before coming to grab Buffy’s shoulder. But that wasn’t the case. Faith killed what she hoped was the last demon, turning around to see how Buffy was doing. She caught a glimpse of Buffy making her way down the rocky hill. 

As Faith made her way down, Buffy stopped to sit by the woman; who was unconscious. She checked the woman’s pulse and pulled her hand away, quickly turning pale. She heard Faith come up behind her, suddenly not wanting to be around the brunette.

“Buffy.”

“She’s dead,” Buffy said softly. “I killed her.”

Panic set in as Faith flashbacked to the night she killed Alan Finch. Her heart rate soared as she grabbed Buffy by the arm, lifting the older Slayer to her feet. Faith felt Buffy go limp against her; all of Buffy’s weight pressing against her chest. 

“Buffy, we have to go,” Faith whispered.

“What happened?” Buffy asked softly, eyes glued to the woman’s motionless corpse.

“There’s nothing we can do now. We have to go before someone sees you.”

“What did I do?” 

“We have to go…” Faith said, pulling Buffy away from the body and through the woods. Buffy barely struggled; staring blankly at the body. Faith stopped dragging Buffy along when they got far enough away. “Alright… Listen to me, Buffy…” Buffy was staring past Faith and in the direction of the woman. “Buffy!”

“She’s dead,” Buffy whimpered.

“It was an accident.”

“I killed her.”

“I gotta get you home,” Faith thought out loud, looking around the woods for signs of anyone else.

“No,” Buffy protested, her eyes glimmering with tears.

“I’m gonna get you home, and you’re gonna crawl in your warm comfy bed… and stay there,” Faith snapped. Buffy flinched, looking up at Faith with big green eyes. “We’re gonna sort this out. Trust me?”

With a weak nod, Buffy allowed Faith to take her back home. The walk was quiet, but Faith could feel the panic take up shop in her chest, making it hard to breathe. The Summers’ residence was dark and silent when Buffy and Faith entered. There were no words shared between them as Faith escorted Buffy to her room. She couldn’t think of anything to say that might not cause an argument since the situation was so familiar. She waited until Buffy was under the covers before she left. 

Shutting the front door softly, Faith sat down on the porch stairs. On the walk there, Faith had decided to stay just in case Buffy did something stupid. She was there for about two hours, smoking half her pack of cigarettes when she heard the door open. Buffy was standing there, a look of determination of her face. It was a look Faith knew all too well. It was the same one Buffy had given her before she stuck the knife into her stomach. Buffy didn’t even look at her as she stepped off the porch, making her way downtown.

Faith stood and stretched, letting Buffy get a sizable head start, before following the other Slayer. She knew where Buffy was going. It was the first place she wanted to go when Faith had killed someone. Faith followed Buffy through the alleyway between an office building and the police station. She knew that going to the police was the right thing to do, but the illogical part of Faith’s mind was screaming at her to stop Buffy.

“Whatcha doing, B?” Faith asked, pretty sure she was going to regret speaking.

“What you should have done,” Buffy said as she reached the main road.

Even though Faith had been waiting for Buffy to bring that up, it still hurt. It definitely didn’t ease the panic attack she was gritting her teeth through. Faith let out a shaky sigh, walking up to Buffy and grabbing her by the shoulders before she could step towards the police station. “Can’t let you do that, B.”

“I have to tell them what happened,” Buffy snapped. Faith flinched at the venom in the other Slayer’s tone. 

“Buffy, we don’t even know what happened,” Faith said, standing firmly in front of Buffy.

“I killed that girl.”

“Demons in the woods? Time going all wonky? They won’t believe you.”

“I’ll show them.”

“You don’t know if…” Behind Faith, there was static from a radio as some cops rushed out of the station. One of them was stating that a body had been found in the woods. “Well, there still isn’t anything to link you to this.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Buffy said coldly.

“It wasn’t your fault, Buffy.”

“I killed her!”

“It was an accident. It just happened!”

“Nothing just happens.”

Buffy marched forward, trying to shove past the younger Slayer. Faith grunted in frustration, grabbing Buffy by the shoulders again. “You aren’t goin’ in there, B.”

Buffy used the small momentum to turn them around so Faith was facing the sidewalk, Buffy being closer to the station this way. “I have to do this. I care, unlike you.”

Faith clenched her fist, refusing to be the one that took the first hit. What Buffy said stung; her uncaring. If Faith didn’t care, would she have turned herself in? She had been wracked with guilt since she had killed Finch and the volcanologist. She steeled herself before speaking. 

“I cared.”

“Did you now?” Buffy said, her voice getting shrill. “It sure looked like you were living the big bad life!”

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t feel like shit, Buffy. What I did… kill-- I wasn’t okay after that. I’m not letting you turn yourself in over an accident because I care.”

Buffy grabbed the lapels of Faith’s jacket, getting in the younger Slayer’s space. Faith flinched, the jostle shaking the pain in her chest. Buffy was close; too close. Then Faith was getting tossed back, crashing into some trash cans in the alley. She groaned in pain as she got up; Buffy was glaring at Faith.

“No you don’t!” Buffy yelled with a choked sob.

“I care about you and the stupid decision you are about to make!” Faith snapped, this time getting into Buffy’s personal space. She grabbed Buffy and turned her away from the police station. In hindsight, it was a bad idea. Her nose crunched when Buffy’s fist made contact with her face. Faith stumbled away, holding her nose as it gushed blood. The blonde was crying, but there was a fury hidden in her eyes. 

“I don’t want you to care about me,” Buffy cried.

“Well, I do.” Again, wrong thing to say. 

Buffy charged forward, taking another swing at Faith. She was distraught and trying to fight the guilt that rose up inside her. She was angry at Faith. Angry at her for caring and following her to the police station. The anger blinded her enough that she didn’t notice Faith was laying on the ground.

“I don’t want you to care!” Buffy sobbed as she straddled Faith’s lap and punched her again. “A girl is dead because of me.”

“Go ahead and put it all on me then,” Faith croaked out through bloody lips. Buffy wasn’t sure if Faith had been sarcastic, but the anger she was feeling was starting to bubble away into guilt. Her punches got weaker when Faith started to black out. Eventually, Buffy stopped punching Faith. Tears streamed down her face as she stared at the younger Slayer’s bloody face. 

“At least I was here for you,” Faith groaned. 

Buffy inhaled sharply, scrambling off of Faith before going into the police station. Faith let out a pained groan as she rolled onto her stomach to get up. Once she was standing, the walk back to the Magic Box was quick. She had left the Firebird there when leaving for patrol. Faith did her best to avoid any of the lit streets, slinking through the alleys to get to her car unseen. 

When she made it to the Firebird, Faith got in and drove off towards the mansion. She had to take it slow, since her left eye was swollen shut. It took an extra ten minutes to drive back to the mansion and the safety of its walls. She parked the car and made her way into the mansion, breathing a little ragged due to pain. Heading to the bathroom, Faith did what she could to clean up the blood covering her face. The worst part was cracking her nose back into place; her eyes watering at the pain. 

Once she was done with bandaging what she could, Faith into the shower to try and wash the panic away. She let the warm water wash over her sore body. Faith watched the water turn a dirty brown, whatever blood she had missed getting washed away. The tightness in her chest, although still there, was lessened by the shower. She remained under the water until it turned cold, just staring blankly at the tiled wall.

After she was dried off, Faith threw on some boy shorts and a flannel button up. Although it wasn’t something she would have worn before, flannel was starting to feel more comfortable than tight polyester. She headed to the living room, making a stop at the liquor cabinet before she laid down on the couch. It wasn’t long before Faith closed her good eye and passed out from exhaustion.

***

It was late into the night when Faith was woken up. She didn’t wake up when the door was opened or from the soft footsteps that approached her. What woke her up was the weight that shifted onto the couch as someone sat down. The soft touch of someone placing their hand on her cheek had Faith groan in pain. A soft pressure on her forehead that felt like a kiss had Faith blinking her eyes open. Things where blurry as she blinked away sleep to see Buffy pulling away from her.

“Buffy?” Faith mumbled sleepily, letting her eyes close again.

“I’m sorry,” Buffy whispered, letting her hand slip from Faith’s cheek. She got up as quietly as she could. Grabbing the blanket from the couch, she draped it over Faith and left the mansion.

The next morning, Faith woke up confused. To her, Buffy showing up in the middle of the night had felt like a dream. She briefly touched her forehead, wanting to rationalize why she had dreamt of Buffy apologizing to her. Trying not to take notice of it, Faith went about her day. When she looked in the mirror, she realized that it would take a few days for her face to heal. The swelling in her left eye had reduced overnight; allowing for Faith to see properly. Mulling over her options, Faith decided that she was going to skip out on work until she looked presentable. No reason to have to explain to Giles that Buffy had beat her up. 

The next time Faith saw Buffy, people were singing.


End file.
